


Learning To Live Again

by saddle_tramp



Series: SPN/Glee Xover of Doom [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-07
Updated: 2011-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-14 12:09:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/149125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saddle_tramp/pseuds/saddle_tramp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the apocalypse, Dean feels like his world really did end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learning To Live Again

**Author's Note:**

> This 'verse diverges almost completely from Supernatural canon after the season five finale, ' _Swan Song_ '.

 

Dean sat alone in the cemetery as he stared down at the green grass in front of him. Blood filled his senses, choking his nose and filling his mouth from his pulverized lips and punctured lung, but he couldn’t make himself care. Only one eye worked, and even that let him see only a blur of green. He knew he had broken bones in his face and ribs, one hand wouldn’t work because both bones in his forearm had snapped, and he was pretty sure he had the worst concussion of his life, which was saying something.

But he didn’t feel a thing, not really.

He knew he should feel the pain – he _should_ be _dead_ – but it didn’t really reach him. He had no reason left to live and no one to care that he was going to die there by the Impala, so he really couldn’t make himself care either. He didn’t hear the Impala’s stereo click off at the end of the tape, or the soft sounds of birds returning to the quiet cemetery, or even the sudden rush of wind behind the Impala that swirled dead leaves around him and the car. Everything was an empty roar in his head, numb and devastated and so far beyond his limits that there was nothing left.

All he could think about was that he should have dragged himself to his feet and followed Sammy before that screaming gate to Hell had closed, no matter what torment it earned him.

His body had failed him. He couldn’t make his legs work.

Someone suddenly stepped in so close to him that their leg blocked his view of the grass, and Dean blinked his functioning eye blearily as he lifted his gaze, too numb to really even care who it was. He got a glimpse of a trench coat and a blurry face he thought was Castiel, and then fingertips touched his forehead and everything went white as fire and ice rushed through him, making his back spasm as his head thudded into the Impala’s door.

Dean gasped like a landed fish, blinking as he could suddenly see and hear and smell again, the pain he hadn’t really felt gone as if it had never been. The utter exhaustion he had lived with for so long was gone as well, and for the first time in months he felt as if he had just had a week of sleep and a good meal. He looked up again at Castiel, confused. 

Lucifer had _killed_ Castiel, Dean was sure. Dean still had blood and bits of ex-angel meatsuit splattered all over him, and he could smell the distinctive odor of raw meat and blood and death.

Castiel crouched so that they were eye-to-eye and reached out to cup Dean’s cheek in the palm of his hand, murmuring gently, “It doesn’t have to make sense, Dean. Accept the reality.”

Dean just blinked again, unable to think of a response.

Castiel smiled softly and leaned in close to kiss Dean’s forehead, then stood and walked away around the Impala.

Dean looked at the grass in front of him again, seeing it all over again in his minds eye, and then his eyes blurred out again as he let out a soft little hurt sound. Sam – his overgrown, half-crazy baby brother that owned him heart and soul – was gone, and this time there would be no coming back. He took a shaky breath and then suddenly he was crying like a broken-hearted child, sobs wracking his body as he stared at the grass he couldn’t really see and thought about the literal hell his Sammy would be stuck in for eternity.

Strong arms were around him suddenly, pulling him close, and then Bobby’s tear-streaked face was inches away as Bobby murmured, “C’mere, son.” Dean turned to cling to Bobby, sobbing even harder as Bobby’s arms tightened around him, holding him close while Bobby rocked him gently. “That’s it, son. Just let it out.”

Dean just clung to Bobby and cried for what seemed like hours before he was finally exhausted. He couldn’t make himself look at Bobby as he finally began to get control of himself and pulled away, scrubbing roughly at his eyes as he tried not to sniffle. “I’m sorry, man. I—”

“Shut up, Dean,” Bobby interrupted gruffly, offering him a ragged but clean bandana. “Don’t be sorry you cried. You’re a stronger man than most, son, but even you have your limits. I been where you are, an’ I know what it feels like. Losin’ the other half of your soul’ll knock any man to his knees.”

Dean let out a strangled little sound as he lifted his gaze to look into Bobby’s eyes, shocked.

Bobby gave him a sad, crooked ghost of a smile. “Don’t look at me like that, boy, an’ don’t try to deny it. There’s never been anything more important to you than Sammy, not since your momma died, an’ after all I seen, I’m thinkin’ that ain’t somethin’ that’ll ever change. You’ll go to your grave someday, still lovin’ him and wantin’ him next to you.”

“I—“ Dean broke off, unable to even speak. Bobby couldn’t mean that like it sounded, he couldn’t _know_. It was unthinkable.

Bobby patted his shoulder and then stood, offering Dean his hand. “On your feet,” he said gruffly. “We need to find some good whiskey. I’m gonna give drinkin’ myself insensible a try, an’ knowin’ how you been drinkin’ the last few months, I got a feelin’ you need a bottle right now even worse’n I do.”

Dean took Bobby’s hand, flushing as Bobby hauled him to his feet. “I’m not an alcoholic, Bobby.”

“Never said you was, boy,” Bobby said reasonably, turning away to walk around the Impala towards the passenger side. “Just the same, I been where you are.” He paused slightly. “Well, close enough. There’s been more’n once I crawled in a bottle for a little forgetfulness, an’ I’d bet everything I own that you could stand some forgetting right now.”

Dean looked over at where the gate to Hell had been, finally noticing how perfectly trimmed the pretty green grass was, and then turned back towards the driver’s door of the Impala as he said quietly, “There ain’t enough whiskey in the world.”

Bobby opened the passenger door, looking across the Impala at Dean. “There wasn’t for me either, son, but sometimes all you can do is try.” He got into the car without waiting for Dean to reply, closing the door firmly.

Dean just stood there for a minute and then got into the car, and a moment later he was driving slowly away.

 

~*~

 

Time passed in a blur of whiskey and motel rooms for a long while after that, punctuated with brief, bloody hunts Dean could barely recall. Bobby tried to get him to live again, tried to get him back into the purpose Dean had lived for since he was old enough to hold a gun, but it didn’t really work.

Dean’s driving purpose in life had never _really_ been hunting.

That had been his job, sure, and he took pride in all the lives he had saved over the years, but it wasn’t what he lived for. Dean had lived for Sam, lived to protect him and try to make Sam’s life better than his had ever been even when that meant staying away from Sam to let him live that life, and with Sam truly gone this time there was nothing left.

Dean was dead inside, empty and cold all the way to the core, and nothing Bobby did could change that.

It was almost a month after Sam’s death when Castiel appeared one night in a little no-name bar in west Texas. Bobby was eating a burger and watching Dean drink a bottle of Jack like it was water when Castiel suddenly walked up to their table. Chuck had told him to remind Dean of the promise he had made to Sam, and since Castiel had his mojo back he had decided to do it in person instead of calling.

Dean knew what Castiel meant immediately, of course. He didn’t really want to go try to make a life with Lisa and Ben, but he couldn’t think of anything else he wanted to do, either. Even breathing was pretty low on his list of things he wanted to do that night, right above ‘waking up tomorrow’, which was several notches below ‘getting too drunk to see’. It usually took him most of two bottles of Jack to knock him out now, but he had money in his pocket and he hadn’t eaten since breakfast so he was sure he could manage to finish off that second bottle.

Bobby asked what Cass was talking about, and when Dean explained, Bobby had latched onto the idea like a pit bull. Castiel quietly disappeared while Bobby spent the next fifteen minutes telling Dean that he needed to go keep his promise to Sam and at least try to be a decent dad, and Dean couldn’t make himself argue. He took Bobby home to the junkyard and then went out and bought Bobby a Rottie pup to keep him company while Dean went to see Lisa and Ben.

When Dean knocked on Lisa’s door a few days later, he had half expected her to slam it in his face, but instead she had taken one look into his eyes and then pulled him inside. She had wrapped her arms around him and just held him close as they stood there in her darkened hallway and cried together.

Lisa welcomed him with open arms into her home and her life, doing everything she could to help him. She cooked his favorite foods and rented the funniest movies she could find for him to watch, and she spent every minute she could at home trying to distract him from his pain. Ben knew that something really bad had happened, but Dean didn’t talk to him about it so Dean didn’t really know just exactly what Lisa had told Ben. Ben obviously knew that Sam was dead and that something in Dean was broken because of it, and he knew that Dean needed their help to survive the pain.

Dean slept or stared at the television a lot that first week, never moving from the time Lisa left him on the couch as she left for work until Ben got home from school in the evenings. He spent his nights in Lisa’s bed, holding her and trying to be whatever she needed him to be, but his heart wasn’t in it and he knew she could tell. Lisa knew that Dean and Sam were brothers, and it didn’t take a genius to see that Dean was mourning the loss of much more than a brother, but still she never pushed him for more than he offered. She told him more than once that she was content just to hold him when he needed it and hope that time would heal enough of Dean’s heart for him to be able to love her at least a little.

Lisa and Ben were both careful of Dean’s pain, doing their best to distract Dean and keep him from having too much time alone, and after a while it actually began to work.

Dean was pulled slowly into the normal life he had never really dared to want, being a dad and sort-of-husband to Lisa. He learned how to convince her crotchety old lawnmower to cut the grass and how to clean gutters, he took out the trash, and he even watched football with a beer in hand and pretended he cared why grown men were wearing tight pants and body armor to fight over a chunk of leather. He killed spiders for Lisa when she panicked over all the wriggly legs, he went to buy her Midol and tampons when she couldn’t make herself get out of bed because she had cramps so bad that just sitting up made her want to cry, and he bought her roses for Mother’s Day and took her out to a fancy dinner for her birthday.

He spent his Saturday mornings tinkering with the Impala or with Lisa’s beloved old Pinto, teaching Ben what he knew about cars, and after a month or so he got a job as a mechanic so he could start paying his own way honestly for the first time in years. He played catch with Ben and drove his son to baseball games to cheer him on from the stands with the other dads, and no matter how tired he was he never refused when Ben asked him to play video games or help with his homework.

Somehow, Dean learned to live again.

… Or how the act the part, at least.

Dean was a sweet, loving ‘house-husband’ to Lisa, despite the lack of an actual marriage. He cooked for her and their son, and he took care of the house and her car, and at night he held her close and made her feel loved and safe, but no matter how perfectly Dean tried to play his role he knew that Lisa could tell that it wasn’t real.

Dean did everything he thought he was supposed to do, saying the right things and smiling or laughing when he should, but inside he was still empty and somehow Lisa knew it.

 

~*~

 

Dean had been living with Lisa and Ben for almost six months when she came home one night to a dozen roses in a vase on the kitchen table. There was homemade lasagna and fresh French bread dripping with butter, and a bottle of her favorite red wine was chilling in a bucket of ice on the counter.

Dean and Ben were both proud of themselves for surprising her with her favorite meal for absolutely no reason at all, giving her scarily identical ear-to-ear grins, but when she looked into Dean’s eyes he saw the hopeful surprise in her eyes turn into disappointment.

Dean knew that it was because of what she saw in his eyes, what she always saw there, but he had no idea how to fix it. He knew that she could see the affection he felt for her, and his amusement at how happy and smug Ben was that they had made lasagna for her from scratch, but the love she wanted – _needed_ – if this was going to work just wasn’t there. He couldn’t make himself love her. He had tried, but it just wasn’t in him. He had been deeply in love with two people in his life, and neither of them was her.

Ben was so proud of the meal and so happy that Lisa couldn’t keep from laughing at the way he crowed over the fact that he and Dean made it _all_ , even the bread.

Dean had allowed Lisa to usher him to the table and make him sit down, and he smiled when she gave him a tumbler of his favorite pale ale instead of the wine she poured for herself.

Lisa bustled around the kitchen filling Dean’s plate and then Ben’s, bringing them to the table before she got her own dinner. She was just sitting down when someone knocked on the front door.

Dean reached over to stop her when she tried to stand. “I got it, sweetheart. Eat your dinner while it’s hot.”

Lisa smiled at Dean. “Alright.”

Dean patted her shoulder with a sweet smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Good girl.” He headed for the front door without waiting for her to say anything, grinning a bit at the way Ben was teasing Lisa about being so obedient.

Dean didn’t bother to look outside before he opened the door, and then he froze in shock when he saw who it was.

Sam stood silently on the top step behind Castiel, watching Dean like a starving man who had just spotted a steak while Castiel smiled and said, “Dean.” He stepped in close without waiting for Dean to speak as he added, “Chuck says hello, and that he’s sorry it took him so long to find your heart again.”

Dean swallowed hard, staring into Castiel’s blue eyes for a moment before he said, “I’ve had this dream, y’know. It makes a fella really hate wakin’ up.”

Castiel lifted one hand to caress Dean’s cheek, smiling softly at the way Dean leaned into his touch. “This is no dream, Dean. You won’t wake up alone this time, I promise you.” He leaned in to kiss Dean softly on the lips, and then he murmured with a sudden crooked grin, “Consider it your combat bonus.”

Dean let out a surprised little laugh despite himself, blinking to clear his suddenly stinging eyes.

“You earned your second chance, Dean.” Castiel kissed him again, lingering a long moment before he let his hand fall and stepped back. He smiled at Dean and said, “You’ve got my number.” He disappeared then between one blink and the next.

Dean was left in the doorway staring at Sam, who looked somehow younger than he had before the end, even though nothing obvious had changed. He was even wearing the same jeans and shirt he had worn when he dragged Lucifer and Michael into hell.

Sam bit his lower lip, shifting slightly as he lifted one hand to brush back shaggy hair and then said very softly, “Hi, Dean.”

Dean knew that he couldn’t possibly find the right way to put any of what he was feeling into words, so he didn’t even try. He took two steps out the door and then he was hugging Sam, crying and laughing all at the same time. “ _Sammy_.”

Sam wrapped his arms around Dean and held on tight, a few tears of his own sliding down his grinning face as he nuzzled Dean’s ear and murmured, “Sorry I’m late.”

Dean laughed again, still crying as he pulled back to give Sam a wide happy grin, hazel-green eyes sparkling and alive for the first time in a very long time despite his tears. “You always are, Sammy. I don’t know why I thought this time would be any different.”

Sam laughed and kissed him, and Dean stiffened slightly in surprise before he responded with a low broken noise as he got lost in kissing the one person he had always loved most in the world. It seemed like it had been years since he had seen Sam, and Dean vowed silently to himself never again to let a day go by without making sure Sam knew how much he loved him.

When they finally had to come up for air, Lisa spoke up softly. “Aren’t you going to invite him in, Dean?” Dean turned quickly to look at Lisa, who was standing a few feet away, and the tears in her eyes made him hate himself even though she was smiling as she added, “Dinner’s getting cold.”

“Lisa, I’m so—“ Dean began, taking a step towards her.

Lisa moved to put her fingers to his lips, smiling. “Hush. Don’t you dare apologize for this.” She moved her hand to Dean’s cheek, smiling up at him even as she wiped away his tears. “I’m happy for you, sweetie, and you don’t need to explain anything to me. I know how much you missed him.” She looked past Dean at Sam, adding, “I’m glad you figured out how to come back.”

“Castiel called in a favor from a friend,” Sam said softly, moving to put one hand on Dean’s shoulder as he smiled at Lisa with his heart in his eyes. “Thank you for taking care of Dean for us.” He gave Dean a fondly exasperated look, adding, “If I know him, he’s needed it.”

Lisa smiled and patted Dean’s chest, then turned to walk back towards the kitchen, where Ben stood in the doorway watching and looking confused. “Dean always was high-maintenance.”

“I’m right here!” Dean said, not sure if he should get upset or laugh. “Don’t talk about me like I’m deaf.”

Sam pushed Dean a little further into the house and then closed the front door, grinning. “You know it’s just the truth, Dean. You’ve always needed a keeper.”

“Lucky I have you and Cass then, huh?” Dean said, heading after Lisa into the kitchen even though he just wanted to grab Sam again and hold on tight. “You feel like lasagna, Sammy, or should I order you a pizza?”

Sam followed Dean into the kitchen as he teased with a smile, “That depends on who made the lasagna.”

“We did,” Ben said then, looking at Sam with an unreadable expression. “Me and Dad made it all from scratch, even the noodles.”

“I’ll have some lasagna.” Sam looked quickly at Dean and then back at Ben, surprised but grinning. “How did you get him to really cook? He hasn’t made lasagna from scratch since I was in high school.”

Ben shrugged. “It was Dad’s idea. He wanted to do something special for Mom.” Ben looked at Dean and then at Lisa, then back at Sam. “He’s been feeling pretty bad because he doesn’t love her like he thinks he should.”

Dean flinched slightly and turned away from the table to go get a plate of lasagna, a fork, and a beer for Sam. “You weren’t supposed to know that, kiddo.”

“I probably wasn’t supposed to see you kissin’ Sammy either, Dad,” Ben said, watching Dean. “Kind of like I’m not supposed to be smart enough to know you’re kind of gay.”

“Ben!” Lisa said quickly, surprised and frowning at Ben. “Don’t say things like that.”

Ben looked at Lisa quickly. “Why not? It’s just the truth! I’m a kid, Mom, not _stupid_. It’s not like it matters anyway, he’s still my dad.”

Dean turned back towards the table, feeling sad and regretful and pleased all at the same time. “I’m glad you feel that way, kiddo, but you’re only mostly right. I’m not gay, just kind of hung up on tall dark and shaggy over there.” He nodded towards Sam, who had taken a seat at the table in the only chair without a plate in front of it.

Sam grinned while he watched them and listened as Ben snickered and muttered, “No shit, Sherlock.”

“Benjamin Dean, do not make me wash your mouth out with soap!” Lisa said sharply. “No cussing at my dinner table!”

Dean put the plate, beer, and fork he was carrying in front of Sam and then moved towards his own chair on the opposite side of the table, popping Ben lightly on the back of the head on his way by. “No cussing in front of your momma _anywhere_. Apologize.”

Ben ducked slightly, looking sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, Mom. It just slipped out.”

Lisa snorted and stared at Ben for a moment, and then she gave Dean a little of the same frown she had been directing at Ben. “If you didn’t let him cuss around you, he wouldn’t forget so often in front of me.” She paused and then added more pointedly, “He never did before.”

Dean looked sheepish too as he sat down in his chair. “Sorry, honey.”

Lisa snorted. “No you’re not. You think it’s cute.” She picked up her fork, looking at her plate and then at Dean again as she finally smiled slightly. “I suppose I should expect it. He _is_ just like his father, and you’ve got the dirtiest mouth of any man I’ve ever known.”

Ben snickered as Dean blushed, laughing. “Hey! I‘m not that bad! I haven’t cussed once all day!”

“Maybe, but when you do, you blister the paint on the walls,” Lisa teased, and then she took a bite of the lasagna and made a happy noise.  “Mmm, God, that’s good.”

Dean preened and looked at Ben, smug. “What’d I tell you?  Knew she’d love it.”

“Of course she does, I made sure you put her favorite kinds of cheese in it,” Ben countered with a wide grin that left no doubt who his dad was.

 

~*~

 

The next few days passed in a blur for Dean. He split his time between floating on cloud nine because Sam was back – the real Sammy, the one he fell in love with when the kid was still a gangly teenager that was all arms and legs and goofy hair – and kicking himself because of what his happiness was doing to Lisa.

Every time she saw Dean look at Sam, Dean could see something in her eyes die a little more as her last shred of hope that they could make a marriage work faded away, and it made him feel like shit. He hated hurting her, but he couldn’t make himself change anything about what he was doing. Sam was back and alive and free of all the demon baggage for the first time in years, and Dean had thought he couldn’t possibly be happier until Sam sat him down on the hood of the Impala late the second night he was back and changed his world forever. Sam had told Dean that he was in love with him and had been for years, and that Lucifer had told him Dean felt the same way, and he wanted to know if it was true. Dean couldn’t lie to Sam, not about that, and they had ended up making out on the hood of the Impala for most of an hour before they finally headed inside to bed.

All Dean had really wanted to do after that was crawl into Sam’s lap and let Sam hold him for ten years or so until the memory of life without Sam wasn’t quite so fresh. Dean didn’t do that, of course, no matter how badly he wanted to. He tried hard not to even touch Sam in front of Lisa or Ben, and even behind closed doors they hadn’t done more than kiss and hold each other. Dean just flat would not risk Lisa or Ben overhearing them having sex in her guest room, and after Sam saw the pain in Lisa’s eyes he had felt the same way. It was painfully obvious Lisa was in love with Dean despite everything, and just as obvious that seeing him happy again was hurting her, but Sam still didn’t want to take Dean away from Ben or Lisa. Sam thought that Lisa would adjust and that Dean could still be a part of her family and her life so that Dean could be the dad he had always wanted to be since he found out Ben existed.

When Lisa sat down to breakfast one morning and calmly said that Dean and Sam should go stay with Bobby, Dean knew it was over. He didn’t argue with Lisa, instead apologizing for hurting her and then asking Ben to go out with him to check over her car and make sure it wouldn’t give her any trouble after he was gone. Dean watched Ben check the oil and the other fluids, and then supervised while Ben checked the belts and the radiator.

Dean and Ben talked about everything that was happening while they worked, but Dean’s mind was really on the fact Sam had stayed inside to talk to Lisa. When Dean and Ben went back inside a little later, Dean and Sam’s things were all packed – Sam’s duffle had been in the Impala’s trunk since he leapt into Hell because Dean had never been able to make himself open it, much less go through it to get rid of anything – and Sam was making tea for Lisa, who was sitting in her window seat in the living room, looking out the window and crying silently.

Half an hour later the four of them were standing by the Impala, saying goodbye.

Lisa hugged Dean and then Sam, smiling slightly despite the tears in her eyes. “Take care of him, Sam.”

“I promise,” Sam said softly, looking sad and concerned. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

Lisa nodded. “I’ll be fine.” She looked at Dean, wistful but calm. “I always knew you owned his heart, Sam. I just got to borrow him for a little while.“

Dean reached for her hand, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry, honey. You deserved better from me.”

Lisa squeezed his hand. “You tried, Dean, and harder than anyone else would have. It’s okay.” She stepped in close and stretched up to kiss his cheek. “Drive safe, and be careful out there.”

“I promise,” Dean murmured softly, pulling her into a hug. Lisa returned the hug and then stepped back as Dean added suddenly, “I do love you, Lisa. I’m sorry it wasn’t enough.”

Lisa smiled slightly. “Your heart is as big as Texas, Dean, but I always knew my little corner of it can’t compare to how much you need Sam.” Her smile widened as she added, “I get a bigger chunk than any other woman ever has, and that’s enough for me.” She leaned up to kiss him lightly on the lips. “I’m going to miss you a lot, so don’t be a stranger.” She smiled at him and then at Sam. “See you around.”

Lisa turned away and walked back into the house, leaving Dean, Sam, and Ben alone by the Impala.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Dad,” Ben said softly.

Dean crouched down in front of Ben, swallowing hard as he rested one hand on Ben’s hair. “I’m sorry, kiddo. If I could change things so that I could stay, I would. I want you to know that.”

Ben tried to smile even though he looked more like he wanted to cry. “I know, Dad. It’s not your fault that Mom’s not Sammy.”

Dean blinked quickly to clear his stinging eyes. “You know I love you, right?”

Ben nodded and then flung his arms around Dean’s neck, hugging tight and hiding his face against Dean’s throat. “I love you too, Dad.”

Dean hugged Ben to him for several minutes, his eyes closed as a few tears slowly leaked down his face, and then he inhaled sharply and pulled back slightly. “We’ll be by again before you know it, kiddo. We’re gonna visit whenever we can, I promise.”

Ben pulled away, nodding and trying to pretend he wasn’t crying. “I know. Before my birthday.”

Dean nodded, smiling crookedly despite his tears. “And we’ll stay around here at least a week next time, too.”

Ben hugged him quickly again and then turned to look up at Sam. “Can I give you a hug, Uncle Sammy?”

Dean’s eyes widened in surprise and he stood up straight again stared, wondering if Ben knew Sam was his brother – he had never told Ben that, but Lisa had always known – or if he was just claiming Sam as family because Dean loved him so much. He knew Ben was capable of either one.

Sam quickly crouched down, smiling as he held out his arms. “Of course you can, Ben.”

Ben hugged Sam tight and then pulled away, looking into Sam’s eyes. “Thank you for making Dad promise to come here. Dad always keeps his promises even if it hurts him, and I’m glad you made sure we got to know each other better.”

Sam reached out to ruffle Ben’s hair, standing up as he smiled down at him. “I’m glad you got to know him better, too. Maybe next time you and me can get to know each other.”

Ben smiled. “I’d like that.”  He hugged Sam around the waist and then moved to hug Dean the same way. “Thanks for keeping your promises, Dad.”

“You’re welcome,” Dean murmured, returning the hug. “Who told you Sam made me promise to come here?”

Ben looked up at him. “The angel did, when he came to ask us if we would help you.”

Dean blinked and stared at Ben.

“When was that?” Sam asked, looking as surprised as Dean felt.

“A few days before Dad got here,” Ben answered, looking surprised from Sam to Dean and back again. “You didn’t send him?”

Sam shook his head. “I couldn’t. I was...”  He trailed off, obviously not sure how to explain.

“In purgatory,” Ben finished for him. “That’s what Castiel said. You saved the world and got sent to Hell, and then Michael pulled you out but you got lost in purgatory, where not even God could find you.” He looked up at Dean, adding, “Is it true that Castiel is an angel?”

“Yeah,” Dean said softly, still kind of shocked. “My guardian angel, I guess you could say.”

“Cool,” Ben said, grinning. “I guess Mom was right. She always said angels would watch over you for us.”

Sam grinned. “Your mom’s a smart lady.”

“Ben!” Lisa called from the door then, smiling slightly when they all turned towards her even though she was still crying. “Come on and let them get moving, it’s a long drive to Bobby’s.  You can call your Dad after your homework is done and talk then.”

“I’m coming!” Ben replied and then he turned and hugged Dean tightly again. “Bye, Dad. Be careful.”

Dean hugged Ben tight, looking at Sam as he said softly, “We’ll both be careful, I promise.”

Ben pulled away and then hugged Sam once more. “Bye, Uncle Sammy. Take care of Dad for us.” He turned away without another word and ran up to join his mother on the porch.

Dean offered Sam the keys to the Impala. “Wanna drive, Sammy?”

Sam laughed and started towards the passenger side of the Impala. “No thanks! Every time I drive we get into trouble.”

Dean snickered and turned to head for the driver’s side door, grinning widely. “Bout time you admitted that.” He opened his door and then paused to look at Lisa and Ben again for a moment, his grin fading into a sad smile. “Take care of each other,” he called.

“We will,” Lisa called back, smiling. “Drive safe.”

“Promise.” Dean got into the car, closing the door and starting the engine all in one easy motion as he glanced over at Sam. Sam already had Dean’s battered box of cassettes and Dean smiled, teasing, “You gonna pick the tunes, huh?”

“I am,” Sam said, smiling.

“Works for me,” Dean said with a grin, looking back at Lisa and Ben to wave at them before he began to back out of the driveway. He heard the distinctive clunk of a cassette being put into the stereo, and then the familiar strains of _Back In Black_ began to play softly. Dean stopped the car to shift back into drive and looked at Sam, grinning widely. “Sammy, c’mon, that’s my baby’s theme song.”

Sam laughed and reached to turn the stereo up almost all the way. “Better?”

Dean grinned widely and started the car forward. “Perfect!”

By the time they reached the end of the block, they were both singing along.

 

~ End


End file.
